Nasrullah Khan | |
|---|---|
نواب زاده نصر الله خان | |
| Chairman ofPakistan Democratic Party | |
| In office June 1967 – 27 September 2003 | |
| Preceded by | position created |
| Succeeded by | Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan[1] |
| Chairman ofAlliance for Restoration of Democracy | |
| In office unknown – 27 September 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1916 |
| Died | 27 September 2003(2003-09-27) (aged 86) Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Nationality |
|
| Political party | Pakistan Democratic Party(1967 – 2003) |
| Other political affiliations | All-Pakistan Awami League(1964 – 1967) National Democratic Front(1963 – 1964) Council Muslim League(1962 – 1963) Pakistan Muslim League(1947 – 1958) All-India Muslim League(1947 – 1947) Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam(1933 – 1947) |
| Children | Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan (son) Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar (son) |
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan (Urdu:نواب زاده نصر الله خان) (13 November 1916 – 27 September 2003) was a statesman inBritish India and laterPakistan.[2] He was also a prominentUrdu poet. He was the only West Pakistani to have served as the leader of theAwami League.
He was born inKhangarh,Muzaffargarh District inPunjab in a prominent land-owning aristocratic family. Following the tradition of the elite of British India, he was educated atAitchison College in Lahore.[3]
He started his political career in 1933 by joining the anti-BritishMajlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam, soon after it was formed bySyed Ata ullah Shah Bukhari.[3] He was considered to be close to the famous journalist Agha Shorish Kashmiri. He was also elected the Secretary General of All India Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam in 1945. This party held an Indian Nationalist position.[4] Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, coming from a background with ties to theIndian National Congress and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam,opposed the Muslim League and its demand for the partition of India.[5] He was also a protege ofSyed Ata ullah Shah Bukhari.[6]
However, he changed course and joined theAll-India Muslim League in 1947 after the partition of India and thecreation of Pakistan occurred. He won a seat ofProvincial Assembly of Punjab in general elections in 1952 and theNational Assembly of Pakistan seat in the 1962 general elections.[3]
He ardently participated in the 1953 and 1974 movement to declareAhmadis as non-Muslims, supporting theMajlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam and other religious parties; he himself too participated in the protests.[7]
In 1964, he supportedFatima Jinnah in the election against presidentAyub Khan.[8]
In 1966, he served as the President of theAwami League party mostly active in formerEast Pakistan. In June 1967, he founded his own political party named asPakistan Democratic Party and served its chairman till his death in 2003.[9][10][1] He helped form the opposition alliance Democratic Action Committee to remove military dictator President Ayub Khan from power.[3] In 1993, he was elected again to the National Assembly of Pakistan. He was also made the chairperson of the Kashmir Committee.[8][11] Just before his death, he was the Chairman ofAlliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) working for the restoration of democracy inPakistan against GeneralPervez Musharraf.[3][8]
He died on 27 September 2003 after being admitted to a hospital inIslamabad, following a heart attack. He was 86 years old. He is buried inKhangarh, DistrictMuzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan. His survivors include five sons and four daughters.[3] Two of his sons have been politicians.
A major Pakistani English-language newspaper comments about him, "Known for his Hukka, dark achkan and distinctive cap, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan spent all his life in fighting against dictators, military as well as civilian, and struggled to strengthen the parliamentary democracy, bothering little how he would go down in history for targeting all governments."[8]
In its obituary for Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan,Dawn of Pakistan called hima 'Crusading democrat'.[12]
Another major English-language newspaperThe Nation ran his obituary in its editorial - titled, 'Death of a veteran'.[13]
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan authored and was the subject of several books, which include compilations of his speeches, writings, and memoirs reflecting his long career in politics and his advocacy for democracy in Pakistan. Notable works include:
Many of his speeches delivered in the National Assembly and at political rallies have also been compiled and published posthumously, highlighting his lifelong commitment to democratic ideals and constitutionalism.
| Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nawabzada Nisar Ahmad Khan Babar | Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmad Khan Babar | Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmad Khan Babar | Nawabzada Abrar Ahmad Khan Babar | Nawabzada Israr Ahmad Khan Babar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soon thereafter, in 1943, the Ahrar party passed a resolution officially declaring itself against partition, which posed a problem in that it put the Ahrar in direct opposition to the Muslim League. The Ahrar introduced a sectarian element into its objections by portraying Jinnah as an infidel in an attempt to discredit his reputation.